6 Influential Celebrity Chefs

For his efforts, Jamie Oliver was named Most Inspiring Political Figure of 2005 in the Channel 4 Political Awards 2006. Today, Oliver is one of the most sought after chefs in England. He cooks on occasion for British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, and more recently, he prepared the feast for the Queen’s 80th birthday.

Marquee contribution: Oliver is famous for more than just catch phrases like “pukka tukka” and “beautiful!” He’s about producing good food, served simply, using top-quality ingredients. But more importantly, he’s not only afraid to show his social conscience, he takes action upon it and makes positive changes.

Anthony Bourdain

Anyone who’s ever seen Anthony Bourdain in action knows this isn’t your typical snooty celebrity chef who’s into only the finest foods the world has to offer. In fact, if you were to put a label on Bourdain, you might say he’s more like the Hunter S. Thompson of the cooking world. Here’s a man who’s not afraid to tell the truth about his life: He’s an unashamed smoker, a heavy drinker, a former drug user, and he exposes his profession for what it really is. Bourdain wears his successes — and his failures — as badges of honor.

He is the executive chef at Les Halles in New York City, but he’s worked for the past 28 years in professional kitchens around the world. As well as being an accomplished chef, he’s a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America (CIA to insiders), and he’s a bestselling author of fiction and non-fiction works. Bourdain is best known for his 2001 rant/autobiography/memoir, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly , where he proudly exposes his life in the restaurant business for all to see.

“Vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter faction, the vegans, are a persistent irritant to any chef worth a damn. To me, life without veal stock, pork fat, sausage, organ meat, demiglace, or even stinky cheese is a life not worth living.” - Anthony Bourdain, from Kitchen Confidential.

In 2002, the Food Network commissioned a 22-episode series called A Cook’s Tour, which featured Bourdain travelling around the world in search of “kicks, thrills, epiphanies and the perfect meal.” The show was a rousing success because of Bourdain’s unique style and his fearless refusal to back down from trying any meal, including sheep testicles, ant eggs, a raw seal eyeball, and a whole cobra, with its beating heart, blood and bile all intact. Buoyed by this success, Travel Channel commissioned a similar series, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, which launched in July 2005.

Marquee contribution: Anthony Bourdain is a pull-no-punches, tell-it-like-it-is kind of guy. He’s far from shy about the food he cooks, what he eats, the life he’s led, and the business he loves, and his audacity gives him his charm. If he likes you, he’ll let you know and if he doesn’t, you'll be sure to know about that one too. Like him or not, Bourdain is respected in the business for his honesty and his dedication to his craft.